Single cylinder up to 4,000rpm

[vtryorks]

Hi tony,

Its hard to describe. It rounds a little rough at idle, not too bad. Idle is set around 1,200.

I'll try to explain the other bits.

I'm riding along, say in 2nd. I accelerate, not hard, just gently. The engine will cough, momentary loss of power and a sort of muffled "thump" or "clack", its for a split second, then it carries on as normal. Sometimes this happens several times in quick succession, other times it might happen only every 20 minutes or so. The severity of the "thump/clack" varies.

If I shut off the throttle (at any speed), it will back fire, once, twice or three times+, they sound like pops, its not massively loud and it only seems to be when I shut off the throttle.

If I take a bend in 2nd at 10mph, the bike struggles to pull on exit, it sort of chatters.... like it doesnt have much torque. The CBF500 did the same thing and the sound is almost identical.

If I'm crusing in 3rd at say 30mph, you can feel a tiny amount of power coming on, then off. Its just isnt happy sitting at a constant speed. Its such a subtle feeling though that its hard to describe this.

In first, its very snatchy from a standing start, I need to use the clutch almost every time to control it, otherwise its extremely "jerky" when accelerating, even gently. It also gets to high revs very quickly in first and I'm doing only say 20mph. This might be "normal" I'm not sure but even the CBF felt smoother.

All of the above seem to occurr whether the engine is warm or cold from what I remember.

What is a normal running temperature, I've seen 103 degrees on the gauge after sitting in traffic. I'm not sure what the normal range is for this bike.

Anyway, it didnt feel right to me, so I took it down to Castle Motorcycles, who are a local dealer but established for at least 20 years, maybe more. They are a Honda main dealer. One of their guys came to look and asked to listen to it across the rev range. He listened and said it sounded like it was only running on one cylinder up until about 4k rpm. He asked me to see the chap on their service desk. So I got him to come out too and he said the same thing (without speaking to the first chap beforehand).

He pointed out that these things could be difficult to diagnose, which I can believe.

I think they will road test it and then they will see what I'm talking about more clearly.

[tattoo]

sounds very familiar to me...had this prob a couple of months ago n found the front coil was at fault.

[vtryorks]

Hey guys.

Got it back from the garage.

Mixed bag really. It still backfires. Mechanic reckons this is because it has slipons and air gets in.

They swapped the carbs for my other set. However, I can still smell a lot of fuel so its running very rich. Mechanic said the low end mixture is rich it needs to go on to a rolling road and be rejetted to cure this but they didnt have the facilities. Not sure if this is needed but the smell of fuel is surely not normal.

Idle seems low but I'll try to adjust it, only stalled once at lights. Idle also seems rough still but I'm not sure if this normal for this model with these cans.

The bike is STILL very snatchy in 2nd, going around roundabouts, the bike its difficult to control. Even cruising at 30mph in 3rd, it doesnt run smooth. Is this my fault? Am I in the wrong gear for a flat road? Roundabouts in 1st maybe with some clutch? It could be my riding style, I dont want to blame the bike if its possibly my fault.

Mechanic said he didnt really like twins, even slated the SP1..which left me somewhat gobsmacked...sigh..He was also very much a factory spec IL4 man, to be expected really.

On the plus side, the stall/hesitation on acceleration has gone and it is now firing on both cylinders all through the rev range. That has to be an improvement.

Cost me £200 for a carb change/balance and new headers fitting inc gaskets and clamps.

PS. They also left it out in the rain, which I wasnt happy about.

[benny hedges]

you need to find a better garage m8 or just bring it to a meet & let us have a look / listen.

200 quid to fit your own set of carbs is extortionate. carb balance takes 20 mins tops.
obviously doesnt know the bike.
when he says he doesnt like v twins i think what he means is he hasnt got a clue how they work.
(but is still happy to take your hard earned)

[vtryorks]

I guess at least now its on both cylinders I'd be happier riding it to a meet. Ziggy said he might pop over tonight (in the car). If not, I'll ride to his place this weekend or maybe there is a meetup going on.

This whole thing is getting on my tits a bit now, starting to wish I hadnt bought it at all....

You guys however, are awesome

If it turns out they didnt do it properly, or made a mess, I will be going back to them asking why. It was a Honda dealer, so its fair to expect them to know what they are doing on their own bike!

[benny hedges]

It was a Honda dealer, so its fair to expect them to know what they are doing on their own bike!

no. even honda dealers have been known to completely balls them up.

[tony.mon]

Agreed, but at least with a main dealer you have a reasonable chance of them paying you back if you can prove that they cocked up.

But they are a jack-of-all trades-Honda, rather than Storm specialist like us

[Miztaziggy]

I listened to it tonight and sounds to idle fine to me. Sounds nice actually, though it stalls when you pull out the choke which is odd, but maybe a clue? Blocked carb maybe?

Fuel filter clogged? Do they even have fuel filters?

I already said that lumpy drive and snatching at 30 in 3rd isn't normal, at least on mine it isn't.

[vtryorks]

The ride home tonight from Ziggy's (top bloke btw) was pretty fun.

Even though its a bit snatchy when cruising at 30 or so, the same cannot be said at 70 (officer). In 4th or top, it cruises effortlessly and is smooth as butter.

So, maybe its just because its running a little bit rich. How to sort that, I dont know, but I definitely felt a bit better about it once Ziggy said it sounds ok. Amazing what just a few words from a fellow owner can do. I struggle to comprehend just how fast the VTR is, winding it on in 2nd is a bit like a time warp, it *feels* far faster than my bandit 12.

I had some sort of a VTR epiphany tonight. Feel like doing the work I originally planned now. Had kind of lost my motivation until now, what with all the problems etc.

Cheers for all the help and support guys. I'll see how it goes for now

[vtryorks]

Sounds nice actually, though it stalls when you pull out the choke which is odd, but maybe a clue? Blocked carb maybe?

Had a think about this. The point of a choke is to provide a rich mixture to the engine for it to start isnt it? If already warm (and running rich already), adding more "richness" would probably cause it to stall.

That is my point of view as a complete and utter noob, but maybe it makes sense?

I note also, that the bike no longer needs choke to start even from cold, which implies it is running rich (as the mechanic advised).

[darkember]

From all the discriptions you are giving IE: very lumpy at low speeds & fuel smell all seems to point to fueling. State of your plugs will answer the richness for you. Another point has the bike been fitted with any dyno kits? If it has do you know what stage has been fitted & have the correct jets been used?

[vtryorks]

From all the discriptions you are giving IE: very lumpy at low speeds & fuel smell all seems to point to fueling. State of your plugs will answer the richness for you. Another point has the bike been fitted with any dyno kits? If it has do you know what stage has been fitted & have the correct jets been used?

That is a very good point.

The mechanic said something similar...hmm. He had not stripped the new carbs prior to fitting. I've no idea about whats fitted to the carbs. However, my confidence with spanners is growing daily. I think I'll be ready to attempt a strip down once I've practiced on the spare ones a few times.

Cheers for the pointer.

Maybe I could dynojet it myself and then I know for sure whats going on...

[Jazzscot]

Glad you are on the road now Martin and are experiencing the grin factor when you open her up.

[benny hedges]

sticking choke plunger on one cylinder.
or a pilot jet has fell out of its hole.

[vtryorks]

Glad you are on the road now Martin and are experiencing the grin factor when you open her up.

Thanks buddy, I admit to almost shitting myself when i really gave it some...maybe it was a strained look rather than a grin..